Prison Boss Vicki Laithwaite (pictured) threatened Mr Plaistow when he complained about the abuse directed at him
A bisexual prison officer who was called a 'p**f' by his colleagues and forced to carry a pink bag to work has won his unfair dismissal case.
Ben Plaistow, 40, was hired as a prison officer at HMP Woodhill in 2014 and was fired two years later after he was accused of gross misconduct.
But today a tribunal found he'd actually been dismissed because of his complaints about the vile abuse he suffered after he told boss Vicki Laithwaite he was bisexual.
Cambridge employment tribunal judge Michael Ord heard Mr Plaistow was subjected to months of abuse from other prison officers and senior staff at the jail in Milton Keynes.
Mr Plaistow was regularly called 'gay', 'p**f' and later 'vermin' by his colleagues, in addition to several physical incidents and vandalism.
The tribunal heard that from the start of his time at Woodhill, Mr Plaistow was asked whether he was gay by other prison officers - based on his haircut and his tidy uniform.
Prison officer Robert Puttock insisted it was just 'good natured banter' and that Mr Plaistow 'joined in and gave as good as he got'.
Puttock also denied calling him 'gay' or 'p**f'. But Judge Ord said Puttock gave no examples of Mr Plaistow responding.
Mr Plaistow would style his hair differently at work and also stopped having his eyelashes tinted to avoid the jibes.
On 22 September 2014, Mr Plaistow's supervisor, custodial manager Victoria Laithwaite asked whether he was gay during his formal induction at the prison in Milton Keynes.
Nicola Braganza, representing Mr Plaistow, said the harassment 'stepped up a notch' after the officer told Laithwaite he was bisexual.
Ms Braganza said officers at the prison coloured in Mr Plaistow's bag with pink
